The encoding, marking and detection of information on various manufactured articles is a useful means for manufacturers to track inventory, maintain quality control and perform other routine functions. In light of recent advances in automated machine vision and marking systems and software, the wide-scale adoption and implementation of such systems has occurred in fields as varied as automotive part manufacturers, clerical operations, retail sales, production of silicon chips/microprocessors and medical and pharmaceutical supplies. As a result, numerous systems and methods for marking, reading and treating encoded information have evolved over the years.
In addition to well-known alpha-numeric representations, numerous other standardized methods for encoding information have been developed. These systems utilize color-contrasting bar codes or data matrices wherein standardized patterns of dots or bars are utilized to represent numbers and/or letters. Many organizations, including but not limited to the Electronics Industry Association, the National Aeronautic and Space Administration, the Air Transportation Association, the Automotive Industry Action Group and Semiconductors' Equipment Manufacturers Institute, have endorsed particular specifications for variations of bar codes or matrices.
Accordingly, examples of specific linear and two dimensional bar code systems (many of which are part of the public domain or otherwise available for general use) include:                Uniform Symbology Specification Codabar (ANSI/AIM BC3-1995)—A system capable of encoding numeric data by way of start/stop characters, which may be used to convey additional information. FIG. 1A depicts an example of this linear bar code.        International Symbology Specification Code 128 (ANSI/AIM BC4-1999)—A system which permits encoding of alphanumeric and full ASCII data, along with high information density encodation of numeric data strings. FIG. 1B depicts an example of this linear bar code.        International Symbology Specification MicroPDF417—This system employs multi-row symbology and incorporates a fixed level of error correction for each symbol size. FIG. 1C depicts an example of this two-dimensional bar code.        
Similarly, two-dimensional matrix systems (many of which are part of the public domain or otherwise available for general use) are also in widespread use. Notably, these systems are particularly helpful in that they can be incorporated on to metal or other non-black-and-white contrast articles, thereby constituting a marked improvement over standard bar code technologies. Such two-dimensional (2D) matrix systems include:                Uniform Symbology Specification Code One—This system utilizes dark and light square data modules, along with a finder pattern of parallel lines within the interior of the symbol. It is designed for a fixed level of error correction, conforms to standard escape sequences and code pages and can be used for large data file encoding and small item marking. FIG. 2A shows an example of this two-dimensional matrix.        International Symbology Specification Maxicode (ANSI/AIM BC10)—This system utilizes a fixed-size symbol containing dark and light hexagonal modules and a bulls eye finder pattern. It also includes two selectable levels of error correction and conforms to standard escape sequences and code pages. FIG. 2B depicts an example of this two-dimensional matrix.        International Symbology Specification Data Matrix (ANSI/AIM BC11)—This system utilizes dark and light square modules in conjunction with a finder pattern along the perimeter of the symbol. It permits error correction, conforms to standard escape sequences and code pages and can be used for small marking applications in a wide variety of printing and marking technologies. An example of this two dimensional matrix is shown in FIG. 2C. Additional information on this system can be discerned from U.S. Pat. No. 4,939,354 which is hereby incorporated by reference.        International Symbology Specification OR Code (AIM ITS/9/001)—This system uses dark and light square modules with a finder pattern in three of its four corners. It contains selectable levels of error correction, possesses capability for encoding Japanese Kana-Kanji characters and conforms to standard escape sequences and code pages. It finds utility in small marking applications for a wide variety of printing and marking technologies. FIG. 2D depicts an example of this two dimensional matrix. Additional information on this system can be discerned from U.S. Pat. No. 5,726,435 which is hereby incorporated by reference.        
As will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art, various other systems exist. Reference can be made to the Association for Automatic Data Identification and Data Capture Technologies (http://www.aimglobal.org/) or other similar organizations in order to determine the complete extent and nature of these systems. Significantly, to the extent that new variations of these systems are continually conceived or updated, it should be understood that the invention described below is equally applicable to any encoding system, whether a new system, one that is described above or known in the art and/or any updated versions thereof. Likewise, the invention described below will have equal applicability to traditional alpha-numeric representations utilizing virtually any known alphabet or numbering system (e.g., Latin character set, Cyrillic character set, Arabic numerals, binary code, etc.).
In response to the development of bar codes and matrix systems, a wide variety of machines have been developed both to create and read such encoded information (herein referred to as marking and vision machines, respectively). Examples of machines capable of reading and marking such information on articles include a wide variety of imagers, vision boards, hand-held scanners, fixed vision cameras, optical readers, charged coupled devices and other similar apparati, and a few exemplary references, all of which are incorporated by reference, include: U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,550,363; 5,614,704; 5,790,715; 6,302,329 and 6,508,404. Additionally, marking machines can be as varied as laser or ink-jet printers, pin-marking machines, micro mills, devices for etching, lasers and the like.
Not surprisingly, the proliferation of different marking machines has made compatibility of disparate systems a key concern for those involved in the vision and marking fields. Each machine possesses its own interface and user instructions which, often times, may be distinct from the other machines utilized in the operation. This is especially true in applications where both vision and marking operations are utilized. To date, industry practice in the field of automated marking machines has been to provide individual dedicated machines, both as a matter of simplicity (insofar as manufacturers of these machines are relieved from the substantial burden of developing an integration system) and perhaps as a matter of profitability (insofar as there is an arguable advantage to being able to sell completely new machines to the marking industry, rather than less expensive integration systems). Whatever the case, industry has not yet adopted universal software standards or operational specifications for communication between differing machines, and particularly with respect to the integration of vision and marking systems.
Even though an industry standard for integration does not yet exist, various computer applications have attempted, with limited success, to optimize particular functional aspects of these marking machines. Because these applications and programs are often linked to inventory, sales records, physical document locations or other critical functions, separate software systems have been developed to maintain detailed, auditable records of how operators use these machines. Additionally, yet other computer applications have been developed to transport and manage the data and audit records across a computer network and/or to an external archiving location (many of these programs and/or machines are themselves linked to such networks). To date, no single application exists to integrate and manage all of these disparate elements, in all likelihood for the exact same reasons that manufacturers of the marking and vision machines have not made any serious attempts to standardize their machines.
Not surprisingly, this multiplicity of software applications and machines creates problems for the vision and marking industry insofar as many of the applications and machines best suited to particular application are simply not compatible with one another, thereby forcing the user to implement multiple computer systems and/or become well versed in the use of multiple applications/machines (resulting in poor resource utilization). Moreover, the separate training for each application/machine that is required for operators utilizing the system results in expense and time consuming training. Yet even more difficulties are encountered when these varying applications are linked to a computerized network for the purposes of archiving the data and audit logs created by some applications.
In short, a single computer application which integrates and coordinates the operation of such vision/marking machines and the various software applications associated therewith has not been created to date. A software application which provides a single user interface to coordinate and control the various machines involved in the generation, application, reading and data management and transport across a computer network of encoded information (namely in the form of traditional alpha-numeric, linear and two-dimensional bar codes and/or two-dimensional matrices) would be welcomed by the industry. Moreover, a software application which permitted auditable tracking of an operator's use of such machines, along with the concurrent capability to transport across a computerized network and maintain an external, auditable log of the data generated thereby, is also needed. Finally, a system which generally simplifies the use of vision and/or marking machines, their related software and their associated auditing and tracking features, without the need for sophisticated training for the operator or time consuming procedures developed only for a specific configuration of machines, would be similarly well-received.